FULL STEAM AHEAD: Fall River's shipwreck month

The start of this season at the Marine Museum has been exhilarating. At the helm we now have a dynamic curator/manager, Mary Concannon, with infectious optimism.

Phil HudnerMarine Museum at Fall River

The start of this season at the Marine Museum has been exhilarating. At the helm we now have a dynamic curator/manager, Mary Concannon, with infectious optimism.

A series of events are scheduled through December with more in the planning stages. The Marine Museum formed an alliance with the Battleship Memorial Committee, the result of an exceptionally warm relationship between the two.

One cannot thank enough the people from the Battleship for their help and support these past couple of years. The alliance is a natural progression of two organizations which have demonstrated a commitment to enhance Battleship Cove and its waterfront, making Fall River a unique locale with the world’s largest naval museum complemented by a museum rich in maritime history of the area and distant shores.

April 6, Mike Tougias, a well-known author who has written 19 bestsellers, including “Rescue of the Bounty,” will give a talk on the Bounty and its sinking during Hurricane Sandy.

The Bounty, a replica of the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty seized by its mutinous crew in 1789, was built for the 1962 film “Mutiny on the Bounty.” After the movie, it was purchased by Ted Turner who donated the ship to the Fall River Chamber Foundation, and was later sold to the HMS Bounty Organization in 2001. The Bounty underwent a $3 million restoration and conducted world wide tours. In October 2012, it left New London, Conn., heading for St. Petersburg, Fla.

On Oct. 29, it ran into Hurricane Sandy and sank about 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, N.C. Fourteen crewmen were saved but two perished, including its captain. Shortly after, a memorial service was held at the Marine Museum, attended by survivors and families of the crew. More people arrived than expected, and staff at the Battleship brought additional chairs to accommodate the large number of attendees. The Rev. Robert Lawrence conducted the emotional service.

There was widespread criticism about why the Bounty was sailing in the ocean in spite of all the warnings about

Turn to SHIPWRECK, Page B4

Turn to Yonder, Page B4

the hurricane. A formal investigation into the sinking was conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board. The inquiry faulted the captain for the “reckless decision” to sail the ship into the path of Hurricane Sandy. Mike Tougias will discuss the events surrounding its sinking. This free event is sponsored by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is open to museum members and the public alike.

The week of April 21 is school vacation and the museum has designated it Titanic Week. Wednesday and Friday afternoons, staff and volunteers will conduct activities with Titanic themes. Thursday afternoon will feature the movie Titanic.

Coming up on May 2 is a major fund raising event featuring Bob Ballard, a universally acclaimed expert in underwater archaeology. Underwater archeology is relatively new because of the difficulties of working underwater. The application of archaeology to underwater sites initially emerged from the skills and tools developed by shipwreck salvagers. However, underwater archeology is not limited to shipwrecks. It now has a number of branches, including maritime archaeology, the scientifically based study of past human life, behaviors and cultures and their activities in, on, around and under the sea, estuaries and rivers. Widespread climatic changes on a continental scale indicate that some sites of human occupation that were once on dry land are now submerged. For example, the North Sea was a great plain, and the remains of animals are sometimes recovered by trawlers. Human societies have always made use of water, and often the remains of structures that these societies built still exist underwater. Acceptance of underwater archeology as legitimate archaeological research has been slow, but that changed when universities began teaching the subject.

Dr. Ballard was a commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving in the Navy for 30 years. He has received 21 honorary degrees and six military awards. Dr. Ballard is a National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence, a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and president of the Ocean Exploration Center at Mystic Aquarium, Mystic, Conn. He spent 30 years at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where he helped develop telecommunications technology for underwater explorations. He is currently a tenured professor of Oceanography and director of the Center for Ocean Exploration at the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island.

An explorer, discoverer, and historian, Ballard is best known for his discoveries of the RMS Titanic, the German battleship Bismark, the U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown (sunk in the World War II Battle of Midway), and John F. Kennedy’s boat PT-109. He is also the author of “Lost Liners,” the story of the great trans-Atlantic liners through memorable wrecks he has visited. The May 2 event featuring Dr. Ballard begins with a cocktail hour and an opportunity to meet the oceanographer before his talk. It will be a preeminent occasion you would not want to miss. Further information will be provided as the date approaches. If you wish to make a reservation, please contact the Marine Museum at 508-674-3533. We’re located at 70 Water St., a couple of blocks south of the Battleship.

Also, if you are planning a private event, consider the Marine Museum. Contact Ginny Eagan at 401-624-9744 for more information. Remember, the Marine Museum is handicap accessible with no steps to climb. Please visit us at www.marinemuseumfr.org, facebook.com/MarineMuseumFallRiver, and twitter.com/MarineMuseumFR. Better yet, become a member. The beginning of a new season is the best time to join.

Phil Hudner retired from Bank of America and lives in Westport, where he was a member of the Planning Board. He currently serves as a trustee of the Marine Museum.